It has been an exciting start to the new year here at Metcalf. We have concluded our Green Prosperity paper series with a comprehensive report outlining the next steps for increasing Toronto’s cycling capacity. In another thought-provoking paper, Innovation Fellow John Stapleton challenges some of the assumptions around the establishment of a basic income in Canada. You will also read about how an innovative collaborative created models and policies for a national approach to housing, Metcalf’s participation in a commitment to a clean growth century, and the inventive ways in which performing arts companies are exploring new revenue sources. I hope you enjoy this newsletter and welcome your comments.

 Sandy Houston, President and CEO

Building a 21st Century Cycling City: Strategies for Action in Toronto

We are pleased to release the final paper in our Green Prosperity series. Building a 21st Century Cycling City offers a bold and practical vision of the city’s cycling future. Developed through a comprehensive consultation and research process, the paper presents an integrated series of recommendations that can dramatically increase Toronto’s cycling population over the five next years.

John Stapleton examines a basic income for Canadians

In a timely new report, Metcalf Innovation Fellow John Stapleton illustrates how Canadians receive very different treatments from Canada’s income security system— and how a basic income may not address these imbalances. A Basic Income for Canadians: What would change? examines the actual budgets of four people receiving income security benefits and explores what would happen to each if a basic income became available. The results may surprise even the most seasoned income security experts.

Performing Arts Program guidelines released

Metcalf’s Performing Arts Program has released new guidelines for its two granting streams, the Creative Strategies Incubator and the Internship Program. The 2017 focus issue for the Creative Strategies Incubator is engaging audiences and/or building communities around your work. Applicants to either program are encouraged to contact Foundation staff to discuss their proposals in advance of the deadlines.

Signing on to a Clean Growth Century

The Foundation has joined a broad cross-section of stakeholders from business, labour, environment, faith, and civil society sectors calling for Canada’s “Clean Growth Century.” The pledge acts as a call to action for all levels of government — and all residents of Canada — to support policy that can accelerate our shift to a clean and prosperous future. Fellow signatories will soon be publishing a series of accompanying op-eds in the digital magazine Policy Options.

Ontario’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development is investing in three SkillsAdvance pilot projects that offer jobseekers industry-specific skills training. Metcalf’s Toronto Sector Skills Academy is proud to be working with leaders from all three of the pilots — Hospitality Workers Training Centre, City of Toronto’s Employment and Social Services, and Quinte Economic Development Commission & Loyalist College — who are connecting people to good jobs in a growing economy.

Insights from the 2015 Creative Strategies Incubator

On Metcalf’s Stories from the Inc. website, companies participating in the Creative Strategies Incubator share their learning through a mix of text, video, and photography. The 2015 cohort, whose focus issue is exploring new approaches and alternative sources of revenue, have now passed the halfway point of their participation in the program. They’ve shared a series of reflections on the motivations, insights, and questions that have emerged as their revenue-generating initiatives have progressed.

National Housing Collaborative lays foundation for housing support

Metcalf is proud to participate as a core funder of the innovative National Housing Collaborative (NHC), a pan-Canadian coalition of nonprofit and private housing associations and major foundations. The collaborative was created in response to the federal government’s focus on a national housing strategy. The NHC has identified four interconnected policy pillars that would both address Canada’s housing affordability crisis and contribute to a stronger housing market. These pillars come at a critical moment to lay a policy foundation that supports Canadians in critical housing need.

Introducing the latest Performing Arts Interns

Metcalf’s Performing Arts Internship program provides funding for performing arts professionals in the early to mid stages of their careers to design immersive, hands-on learning opportunities that hone their skills and expand their professional networks. Nine new participants have been accepted into the program. Their diverse focus areas include site-specific theatre, festival curation, and props design.

Environment Program reports spur national conversation

Two recent Metcalf-funded reports have contributed to pressing discussions on Canadian environmental policy. Canada’s Electric Vehicle Report Card, from a Simon Fraser University research team, called for more robust electric vehicle policy weeks before the federal government unveiled plans for a clean fuel standard and a national strategy for zero-emission vehicles by 2018. Out with the coal, in with the new, by the Pembina Institute and a coalition of health and environment partners, was cited in the government’s statement committing to a national coal phase-out.

Metcalf to launch Leading and Learning Program in spring 2017

From 2010-2016, Metcalf’s Renewal Program provided opportunities for training and replenishment to leaders in our sector. We have incorporated our learning from this unique program into its new incarnation, “Leading and Learning.” Set to launch in spring 2017, the program will create opportunities for non-profit professionals to strengthen collaboration, build their networks, learn about promising new practices, and develop their leadership capacity. We will share more information about this exciting development in the coming months.